Our Refuge and Strength

I was getting ready to leave the house yesterday and had the radio on Glenn Beck’s show, and a guy called in, with a scripture. It caught my interest. I wasn’t able to write it down right then, so I tried to remember and look it up later. “Psalms 40-something” I repeated to myself. In my later search I came across Psalm 43:1

Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

which seemed somewhat appropriate in this season of IntimOgate. But I didn’t think that was the one that struck me.

Eventually I found the right one, and verified it by re-listening to the radio program. At about 139 minutes [may require subscription to view/listen]  into the show is a call from Joshua in Arkansas (I adjusted his quotes of the actual scripture words to match my Bible; there were only a couple of minor discrepancies not affecting the meaning):

In prayer this morning, God kind of gave me a message for you and for the people of Moore, Oklahoma. Psalms 46 starts by saying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” It talks in that chapter about nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall. He lifts his voice and the earth melts. The last verse of that scripture ends with, “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

It’s verse 10 of this psalm that says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” I need to spend more time in Psalms. Good stuff.

There are philosophical questions that come up after disasters and extreme trials. There are some clearly unhelpful beliefs:

·         The people are being punished for not believing in global warming.

·         The people are being punished for not believing in (fill in the blank).

·         This is proof that believing in God and conservative values gives you no protection.

·         Those people ought to have prepared better or chosen to live somewhere else.

Bad things happen. Records show that the rate of tornadoes of all categories has been consistent over the decades records have been kept. Oklahoma is an area where tornadoes happen. I can understand, after Katrina, saying, “Let’s not rebuild below sea level; there’s no way to prevent flooding there.” But to refuse to build or farm or travel across the vast part of the US subject to tornadoes is unreasonable. And areas that aren’t subject to tornadoes probably have something else: earthquakes, flooding, drought, hurricanes, blizzards, or something else. You can’t live in a place free from natural dangers.

Bob Gorrell cartoon

I think our response is what is important. Do we turn to God and trust Him to get us through whatever trial we face? Do we seek to help the injured, rather than ignore them or blame them? Our love of God and His children is a measure of our civilization; the more civilized, the more peace and comfort we will experience, even during the inevitable difficult times.

My sister-in-law, in Oklahoma, linked someone’s Facebook note I thought was worth repeating. This is written by OK resident Jennifer Winton Edmundson. I don’t know her, or any more about her (even whether my SIL personally knows her), but I thought this was worth sharing:

Dear Non-Oklahomans or at least those that do not live in our Tornado Alley.... If you do not live here, please do not tell us how we should be building our schools, doing rescue, how to rebuild or question why we live here. Criticism, if warranted, is just only from those directly affected.... You have no idea what it is like to be in a tornado.... You have no idea how massive an EF5 is... You probably do not know that in that size of storm, you have to be underground and that under our ground is a level of rock that needs dynamite to get through in many places... The people in Moore had 16 minutes. 16 minutes. I take longer showers. And in that time I cannot fathom how many people were saved by our local meteorologists, by teachers, by people paying attention and knowing what to do. Heroes. I mourn with those that lost so much—everything. I can’t imagine the crushing sorrow they are enduring. I rejoice with those saved. Those 101 that came out overnight....And I marvel at the selflessness and generous spirits of those with whom I share this state. These people—that is why I live here. What can you do for Oklahoma? Pray. Pray hard. God did not do this to us, but you can bet He will be here as we walk through it.... You can send money and supplies to local charities. But please, refrain from "you should have's"... It compounds the loss... Sincerely, Now an Okie....

**This now concludes my kind of rant....

I heard today that people of Joplin, MO, who were on the receiving end of help not that long ago, are gathering supplies and gearing up to help the people of Moore, OK. Because of the kind of people we’re seeing in OK, I expect they will not only rebuild; they will be sharing with others sooner than we could expect. May God help them!

Look for the Helpers

On Sunday afternoon, when we got home from church and started checking email and Facebook, we learned, after the fact, that Mr. Spherical Model’s brother and family, in Oklahoma, had spent the afternoon in their tornado shelter—their first time actually having to use it. There were four adults, one child, and a hamster in a shelter that says it fits eight—but they said they were pretty squished.

The tornado passed nearby but missed them Sunday, so we went “phew” and thought the danger was past. And then Monday came. We heard enough news to recognize the family was safe, but elsewhere in Oklahoma things were much much worse.

We found ourselves glued to the Weather Channel after dinner. One of the news people broke down while talking about the lost children at an elementary school, some of them drowned under the rubble. That was heartbreaking. Another school, a few blocks away, had all the children huddled in inner hallways (if you can’t get in an underground shelter, an inner windowless room is the place to go), and despite the devastation, all the children survived. You do what you can to improve your odds of survival, but there’s not much a mere human can do against 200-mph winds and buildings being ripped apart.

Plaza Towers Elementary, the morning after
from news source

Tornadoes of any size are scary enough. But this one was more than a mile wide, stayed on the ground for 45 minutes (rather than the usual quick touchdown), and decimated a swath 17 miles long. Nature wins this round.

We had what seems like a lot of shocking, emotional, and devastating news lately, some local, some national: West, Texas, explosion; mass stabbing at our nearby community college; the Boston Marathon bombing; the Newport, Connecticut, school mass murder. One of the quotes that started appearing was from the unlikely source of Mr. Rogers:

When I was a boy I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”—Fred Rogers

I found the image on Pinterest, linked to here

I knew those stories would come out. Some of what we’ve heard since Monday have been stories of heroic teachers, guarding and shielding children through the storm, and teachers hugging and carrying children out of the rubble. There was also the tireless efforts of first responders who worked through that first night. When I went to bed, the estimated death toll was 51, but by morning it had dropped to 24, including just 9 children. Some of the heartbroken were blessed with happy reunions. As homes and property were utterly lost, those who found their loved ones will feel blessed.

One happy woman, counting her blessings that she was alive, was telling newspeople her dog must be under the rubble, and then, on the air, she found her dog alive and got him out, and thanked God for granting both of her prayers—her own life, and her dog's.

One of the things we have learned by living along the Gulf Coast is that when disasters strike—and they strike all too frequently for our comfort—people reach out to help. They love to help. They consider it an opportunity and a privilege. I expect what we’ll see in the coming days is an outpouring of love and caring for the people of Oklahoma.

I’ve been noting a few resources where help can be offered:

Basketball star Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, donated $1 Million to the Red Cross of Western and Central Oklahoma for his home town’s disaster relief. You can add to that donation here. The local station News 9, connecting with the Red Cross, suggests texting the word “food” to “32333” in order to make a $10 donation. (You can verify their site on Facebook: Oklahoma Tornadoes Recovery.)  If you’re local, you can drop off donations at the News 9 studios.

Mercury One, a Glenn Beck charity, set up a 2013 Midwest Tornado Relief, and already has supplies delivered to Moore. Beck says 100% of donations go directly to relief; any overhead costs get paid for from some other source. Donate here.

LDS Humanitarian Services is another place where 100% of donations will go directly to aid. They are already responding to needs in Oklahoma, and the Church will be providing volunteer labor as well (watch for the yellow Mormon Helping Hands T-shirts). (Note: your donation will go 100% to humanitarian aid, but will not be earmarked as to where, so Oklahoma’s needs will be met, and donations will also be spent around the world where there is need.] Donate here, indicating “LDS Charities (Humanitarian Services).”

Hugh Hewitt’s radio program has recommended and linked to Feed the Children Disaster Relief. Donate here.

May God pour out his blessings on those in need! And may we find the helpers to lift our spirits, and be the helpers where we can.